GOP poverty

[Rigs11]

What does it say that most of the 10 poorest states are Republican?

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

As the Republican race for the White House heats up, here's something the GOP can't be too comfortable with:

Most of the 10 poorest states in the country are Republican.

Mississippi is the poorest... followed by Arkansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama and North Carolina.
And the list doesn't even include Texas, where Rick Perry is governor and one in five people lives in poverty.
In a piece on CNN.com, Roland Martin writes Republicans expect to win all 10 of these states in 2012, although President Obama won North Carolina by a slim margin in 2008 and West Virginia is usually considered a Democratic state.

Martin points out that despite the red-leanings in these states, you don't hear so much from Republicans about poverty.

In fact the word "poor" has barely come up at the GOP debates thus far. The only exceptions were:

– Rick Santorum discussing welfare reform

– Ron Paul suggesting the U.S. get rid of the minimum wage

– and Mitt Romney using the phrase "energy-poor."

Overall, Republicans believe their economic agenda is the best way to get people back to work - and many in the GOP are quick to blame President Obama for the rise in the poverty rate.
But how about addressing the root causes of poverty more directly - especially when millions of people in these so-called red states are suffering.

The Census Bureau reports a record $46.2 million Americans are living below the poverty line - which translates to about $22,000 a year for a family of four.

Minorities are especially hard hit - with 27% of blacks living in poverty and 26% of Hispanics compared to about 10% of whites.

http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/20...iref=obnetwork

[TailgateNut]

Aside from Montana, those are some of the most RedNeck States. Just sayin'

[DarkHorse30]

How about this, Rigs (do you work for the seiu?...just saying): I live in Montana, and Max Baucus is my senator. I have criticized him publicly in the Billings Gazette twice, and both times I was audited within 2 weeks later. I mentioned this to a sub-contractor at work and he laughed.....he said he knows of this happening at least a handful of times to people that he has talked to.

So cite polls all you want, but Republicans know that gov't can't fix ANYTHING.....and the dems are going down with their ship, God love 'em.

[Rigs11]

Republicans can think they know whatever they want.if the government can let the private sector screw up this economy through lax regulation,which the repubs favor,they sure as hell can prevent this crap from happening again.epic llama was quick to pin the high national poverty on obama.I pointed to the repub states as having the highest numbers.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by DarkHorse30

How about this, Rigs (do you work for the seiu?...just saying): I live in Montana, and Max Baucus is my senator. I have criticized him publicly in the Billings Gazette twice, and both times I was audited within 2 weeks later. I mentioned this to a sub-contractor at work and he laughed.....he said he knows of this happening at least a handful of times to people that he has talked to.

So cite polls all you want, but Republicans know that gov't can't fix ANYTHING.....and the dems are going down with their ship, God love 'em.

I like it but i will add that some democrats understand too they just wont admit it which is fine with me.

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

RED STATE WELFARE QUEENS

By Mike Hudson

http://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/column189.html

There's not a week that goes by here at the Niagara Falls Reporter that we don't get our fair share of hate mail.

Sometimes it's locally generated but, more often than not, it originates in what are commonly referred to these days as the "Red States." The writers have apparently stumbled across the paper on the Internet and become outraged at what they interpret to be our liberal, left-leaning, godless bias.

Perhaps they ran a Google search on "Rush Limbaugh" and "addled drug addict" or "Bill Bennett" and "degenerate gambler." Our name is more likely to come up if you type in "George Bush" and "moron."

The fact that we publish in New York -- or "Jew-York" as some wags south of the Mason-Dixon line would have it -- doesn't help.

There are, apparently, a lot of people living to the south and west who think of the Empire State as pretty much a suburb of New York City. In their mind's eye, they picture me and Staba, Bruce and the Redhead sipping lattes somewhere on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and it makes them mad.

Mean mad.

They tell us they're going to kill us or that we need to get right with God.

They say we should be ashamed of ourselves for electing Hillary Clinton as our senator.

They characterize our viewpoints as being to the left of Teddy Kennedy's, completely oblivious to the fact that we kind of take that as a compliment.

But if there is one common thread in these letters, be they from Florida or Mississippi or Texas or Utah, it's that we here in New York aren't faring as well, economically, as they are.

We have the highest state and local taxes, they point out, blaming it on our godless, liberal social welfare policies. The taxes, they say, are what's driving industry out of the Northeast and upper Midwest down into the welcoming arms of Dixie. They're quick to tell you that the unemployment problems we are experiencing are a natural consequence of the tax-and-spend policies of the Democrats we've elected to office.

Which hadn't struck me as all that far-fetched.

Who can deny the go-go economy of, say, North Carolina when compared New York or New Jersey?

So I was glad last week to hook up with the Tax Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization formed by a group of businessmen in 1937 to combat what they viewed as the massive federal tax increases enacted by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Liberal they're not.

The Tax Foundation keeps track of the amount of federal income tax paid by individual and corporate taxpayers in each of the 50 states, and then figures out how much on the dollar the various states get back.

Here in New York, for example, we get back 80 cents for every dollar we send to Washington.

New Jersey taxpayers get back 57 cents.

In John Kerry's home state of Massachusetts -- "Taxa-chusetts," George W. Bush sneered -- they receive a return of 78 cents on the dollar.

Few of the "Blue States" get as much back from the federal government as they pay.

The Red States do, though.

They get it back and then some.

All those Republicans up in Alaska get $1.89 for every dollar they send to Washington, nearly double.

The Bible-thumpers down in West Virginia cost us $1.86 on the dollar, and those self-reliant cowboys out in Montana rake in $1.60.

While the Mormon religion places strictures on its members accepting government money in the form of public assistance, it turns out that the whole damn state of Utah is on welfare, receiving $1.20 for every dollar they put in.

According to the Tax Foundation study, every one of the Red States gets as much or more than it pays, with the exception of Nevada.

In other words, the 20 cents New Yorkers don't get back, the 43 cents our neighbors in New Jersey don't get back, the 22 cents Massachusetts taxpayers don't get back and all the money people living in Wisconsin, Washington, New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Connecticut and California don't get back goes to fund the thriving, God-fearing, gay-bashing, morally superior economies of the South and West.

Shortchanged state and local governments in the Blue States are forced to make up the difference, which goes a long way toward explaining why our property, sales and income taxes are so high.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind when some cretinous Bill O'Reilly fan e-mails me with his thoughts regarding my race and sexuality, then closes by saying he prays for the deaths of my entire family.

I just wish I wasn't paying for his Internet connection.

[ant1999e]

So then you guys agree we should cut welfare

[ant1999e]

Do you think this fact has anything to do with the fact that these are southern states? You guys study history much?

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by ant1999e

So then you guys agree we should cut welfare

Holy crap....if that's what you got out of the foregoing article, then you need to step up your comprehension game in a big way.

[sirhcyennek81]

% living below the poverty level:

1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4 Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
6. St. Louis , MI 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%

What do these top ten cities (pop over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common...?

Detroit, MI hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961.

Buffalo , NY hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1954.

Cincinnati , OH hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1984.

Cleveland , OH hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1989.

Miami , FL has never had a Republican mayor.

St. Louis , MO hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1949.

El Paso , TX has never had a Republican mayor.

Milwaukee , WI hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1908.

Philadelphia , PA hasn'telected a Republican mayor since 1952.

Newark , NJ hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1907.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-.../2673525/posts

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by sirhcyennek81

% living below the poverty level:

1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4 Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
6. St. Louis , MI 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%

What do these top ten cities (pop over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common...?

Detroit, MI hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961.

Buffalo , NY hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1954.

Cincinnati , OH hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1984.

Cleveland , OH hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1989.

Miami , FL has never had a Republican mayor.

St. Louis , MO hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1949.

El Paso , TX has never had a Republican mayor.

Milwaukee , WI hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1908.

Philadelphia , PA hasn'telected a Republican mayor since 1952.

Newark , NJ hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1907.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-.../2673525/posts

So your argument is that all it would take to lift those cities out of poverty would be to elect a republican mayor?

[sirhcyennek81]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

So your argument is that all it would take to lift those cities out of poverty would be to elect a republican mayor?

Not at all. But if we are going to post ridiculous "poorest/poverty" lists simply because a single party dominates local politics I feel its important to be balanced.

More to poverty than republican or democratic politics.

[ant1999e]

Originally Posted by L.A. BRONCOS FAN

Holy crap....if that's what you got out of the foregoing article, then you need to step up your comprehension game in a big way.

Just making the point that 9 of those states are southern which took a major economic hit after the civil war and have truly never recovered.

[Pony Boy]

Originally Posted by Rigs11

What does it say that most of the 10 poorest states are Republican?]

A family of 4 making 40K in Arkansas can live in a nice 3 bedroom brick home on 5 acres and have plenty of money left over for monthly expenses.

Tell me what your lifestyle in California or NY would be for a family of 4 on a 40K income?

[L.A. BRONCOS FAN]

Originally Posted by Pony Boy

A family of 4 making 40K in Arkansas can live in a nice 3 bedroom brick home on 5 acres and have plenty of money left over for monthly expenses...

Yeah, but they have to live in Arkansas...